Many vehicles are designed to transport freight, goods, merchandise, personal property, and other such cargo. Often, such vehicles are arranged to tow a trailer by attaching the trailer to the towing vehicle, such as through the use of a hitch assembly. Typically, a trailer hitch is utilized to connect a towed vehicle or trailer to a towing vehicle, such as a truck, for example.
There are many different types of trailer hitches in the art that may be attached to the towing vehicle in a variety of ways, depending on the type of hitch. Some of the most common types of hitches include gooseneck, fifth wheel, front mount, and the like. Typically, trailers are connected to a towing vehicle by way of a hitch assembly including a ball hitch or member secured to the towing vehicle and a ball socket coupling mechanism on the towed vehicle or trailer that mounts over the ball and thereby allows for the trailer to pivot behind the towing vehicle.
Ball and socket-type towing mechanisms are used on a wide variety of vehicles, such as automobiles, SUVs, trucks, tractors, and the like. The systems are used to tow various vehicles, such as trailers, mobile homes, other non-operating vehicles, and the like. The socket to hitch ball connection allows relative movement between the towing vehicle and the trailer as the towing vehicle makes turns, traverses uneven or rough terrain, and passes along inclining and declining roadways.
The hitch ball or member of some hitches, such as gooseneck and fifth wheel, for example, is commonly mounted in the bed of a towing vehicle, such as a pickup truck, near the longitudinal centerline of the bed, so that the weight of the trailer is evenly distributed between the tires on the two sides of the pickup truck. Typically, a sub-frame assembly, such as a hitch, is secured to the towing vehicle. The ball member is attached or otherwise secured to the hitch for use in towing the towed vehicle.
This type of hitch is often secured to the truck structure in an opening cut in the bed of the truck, so that a substantial portion of the hitch attachment is located below the bed of the truck. In addition, the ball member typically may be removed or lowered to a stowed position below the bed to ensure that the use of the bed is not substantially hindered by the presence of the ball.
The socket structure of a coupler mechanism is typically affixed to the trailer or towed vehicle. Generally, the coupler is secured to the tongue of the vehicle or trailer, usually a forward extension of the frame. The coupler typically includes a manually operated clamping arrangement which retains the ball member in the socket and thus the towed trailer or vehicle to the towing vehicle.
Often, the trailers and sockets are of different sizes, requiring ball members of different sizes. Also, in some instances, it is preferable to be able to remove the ball member for security purposes in order to protect it from corrosion, or to simply store it when it is not being used.
Hitch assemblies of various sizes have been used for this purpose. As a result, it is not uncommon for different types of trailers to be equipped with sockets that may be adapted for use with hitch balls of different sizes or diameters. Therefore, attempts have been made to provide interchangeable hitch balls to allow the towing vehicle to accommodate a variety of different trailer sockets on the towed vehicle. However, such attempts suffer from several deficiencies.
For example, such hitch balls are typically provided with a threaded mounting shank that is inserted through an aperture in a hitch bar on the towing vehicle. The hitch ball is secured to the hitch bar with a nut and locking washer. This typically requires significant user inconvenience as the user may need to stoop or lay on the ground to secure or remove the hitch ball from the hitch bar. This can be a particularly frustrating problem if the ground is wet or muddy. Further, such hitch balls do not prevent a trailer socket from being coupled to the hitch ball prior to securing the hitch ball to the hitch bar.
Over the years, towing balls of various diameters have been used and several industry standard sizes (e.g., 1⅞ inch, 2 inch, 2¼ inch and 2 5/16 inch in diameter) are now in frequent use. As a result, it is not uncommon for a single towing vehicle to be used to tow various trailers where those trailers are equipped with socket assemblies adapted for operative connection with towing balls of different diameters. Thus, there is a need in the art for a hitch ball assembly that allows for an easy and convenient interchange of towing balls of different diameters, thereby permitting the hitch of the towing vehicle to be tailored to fit the socket assembly of the towed vehicle or trailer and thereby meet the application needs.
Toward this end, a number of approaches have been proposed in the past. Some approaches have included using a post for a towing ball incorporating a spring-biased latch pin for releasably attaching the towing ball to the base. Others utilize a post and towing ball secured together by means of a fastening pin. While other approaches utilize an interchangeable hitch ball assembly including a post having an annular groove. The towing ball is secured to the post by means of an offset pin which extends tangentially through the annular groove so as to allow relative rotation of the towing ball on the post.
While these approaches may provide a secure connection of the towing ball to the post, the latch pins may prevent rotation of the towing ball relative to the post. Such rotation is desirable as it minimizes binding forces and promotes articulation and smooth trailer tracking at both highway speeds and when maneuvering slowly in confined areas. There, however, is some difficulty in effectively securing the pin in position and the structures may be relatively expensive to produce.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved hitch ball assembly that may be easily interchangeable with the hitch of the towing vehicle. Further, there is a need for a hitch ball assembly that prevents a trailer socket from being connected to the hitch ball prior to securing the hitch ball to the hitch bar.